Hi all, prospective motobrick owner here. I've worked on Japanese twins and fours for many years, but I've always wanted a BMW project. I think I found an opportunity today, but my experience in the past has shown me that knowledge and informed opinions are found in abundance on the forums.
I went and looked at the bike today. It's a 1990 K75RT, with clean title. Asking price is $500. I don't usually buy bikes unless they are destined to be a project, and this one is no different. The ad stated that it was in need of a wiring harness and fuel injectors. The current mileage on the bike is 107,xxx. The bike is all there. All tragkorbs, panels, even the original riders manual are on hand, and it would come with an extra set of soft bags and a helmet too (hey, it's something). The one thing it was missing was the top of the windscreen. I guess the current owner didn't like the height and "trimmed" it down. It looks like a smoothly done job. No cracking and a nice smooth curve that's left/right symmetrical. Being unfamiliar with these bikes, I didn't even notice.
Seems like the current owner just wants their garage space back and to not have to look at it anymore. When I got there, she breached the topic of discussion for why it needed a new wiring harness pretty immediately "It caught on fire". She pointed out the damage and it really doesn't look too bad. It looks to me like an electrical fire destroyed the wiring going to the fuel injectors, as well as the wiring clips on the injectors themselves. I hunted up some EV6 injectors and a wiring harness on eBay without much too difficulty, and without much flinch when I saw the price. Are eBay wiring harnesses typically safe for these bikes?
It looked more like scorching and melted wires than a "fire" to me. nothing around including the fairing was scorched or warped or discolored. The mechanic (husband) in question was away on business, so I couldn't ask specifically what happened.
The current owner stated that they got it a few years ago and were riding it around, until the above incident, and it's sat a few years since then. I think the title says they got it in 2013 (foggy memory, she did show me the title in hand though), so if my math skills are accurate, no more than 4 years sitting. I've never worked on a FI bike before, I know for the carbed bikes I have worked on, 4 years is an awful long time. Is this length of time likely to cause me grief?
The other big concern I have is the mileage. From what I've read on this form, drive shaft damage is frequent and debilitating. She herself didn't have the service records, but I'm going to be calling the only local BMW dealership tomorrow to see if I can obtain them. The bike was owned by someone in a fairly well to do area, so it's not extremely unlikely that the requisite service would have been done, I just don't know for sure.
The current owner stated several times that she just wants the bike gone, so I may be able to come in a bit below asking on it. Is this likely to be more trouble than it's worth? If I decide I'm interested, what are some things I NEED to look at on it before taking the plunge? What things would be absolute deal breakers? I'm pretty mechanically inclined, my current daily is a 1981 Yamaha XJ650 Maxim that I brought back from the brink of the junkyard, so I try to be fearless when taking on projects (funny how close that word is to "foolish", eh?).
